The Use of Welsh

Penweddig was created to provide a Welsh learning environment and Welsh medium education for the children of north Ceredigion.

One of the school’s principal aims is to be a Welsh community. At Penweddig the Welsh language and Welsh culture is given a high profile.

This is not done within an insular, inward-looking environment but within a whole school framework and a range of activities that broaden pupils’ horizons far beyond the boundaries of Ceredigion and Wales. Learning a foreign language and providing visits that give pupils experiences of Europe and beyond are given a prominent place in the school’s activities. Every effort is made to develop pupils’ understanding of other cultures and the ways of life of other people.

More than half of Penweddig’s pupils come from homes where little or no Welsh is spoken. The school day is the main opportunity that they have to practice their Welsh. The school therefore expects pupils to speak Welsh in all their school activities and urges parents to give them every encouragement.

Increasingly, the Welsh language and bilingualism are an economic asset in their own right. The demand for bilingual services and employees has increased dramatically and continues to rise. Therefore, acquiring a command of Welsh and attaining a high degree of bilingualism and, indeed, multilingualism, are valuable and life-enhancing competencies.

The school’s policy on the medium of teaching and sitting examinations in September 2019 is as follows:

English is taught and examined in English

Mathematics and Science are taught bilingually but the medium of assessment/examinations will be in English or Welsh according to the child and parent’s choice. Pupils who have studied these subjects through the medium of Welsh in Year 6 are encouraged to continue to do so in Year 7

All other subjects are taught and examined through the medium of Welsh

This is the policy for every pupil who commences in Year 7 in September 2020 and will remain the same throughout those pupils’ career at Penweddig.